Thursday, 27 March 2014

A scene from Jerusalem and a trip through Nazreth

Pat turned to us and said, ‘It’s just like a scene from The Bible!’

He was so right! As
we looked down from the steps onto the surrounding churchyard, it seemed like
we’d been transported 2,000 years back in time.
Give or take a bit of concrete, it was what you’d have expected
Jerusalem to have been like around the time of Jesus ... people dressed in long
white robes and long white shawls ... chunks of bread and alms being
distributed to the poor and the disabled ... the elderly on wooden crutches and
walking sticks that could easily have been centuries old .... sheep, goats and
donkeys wandering freely outside ...

This is Entoto, one of Ethiopia’s most secret
mountains. The hill which rises to 3,200 m
above sea level, overlooks Addis Ababa, the sprawling capital, to the south, and
Sululta, and Yaya Village where I’m staying, to the north west. The eucalyptus forests which stretch across
Entoto and the surrounding hills are one of the most popular training grounds
of Ethiopia’s illustrious distance runners.

As we make our way down the rocky road from Entoto, we stop
to take in the view. We spot satellite
field, the large flat grass area which is also popular among the athletes, and
where we have been doing most of our training.
The field is easy to spot thanks to the large adjacent satellite dish
that gives the area its name. Sululta
looks so flat from here. It’s difficult
to believe that it sits at 2,800 m above sea level.

I previously visited Ethiopia in November 2010; a visit
which incorporated participation in the Great Ethiopian Run and some
research for Notes from Higher Grounds.
I felt then that I hadn’t fully explored the running options that
Ethiopia has to offer, and when an opportunity arose to stay at Yaya Village
in Sululta, just 11 km north of Addis Ababa, I had to take up the offer. As soon as I had the price of the flight put
together, and a three week gap in my schedule, I headed back to Africa.

Yaya Village opened in 2011. It is a 4-star resort co-owned by
Ethiopian-born Canadian international athlete Joseph Kibur, and the man who
needs no introduction, Haile Gebrselassie.
The rooms are among the best I’ve stayed in, and the food is very, very
good indeed. Away from the hustle and
bustle of the city, the atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful. The gym is perfect for serious athletes, and
there is a soft tartan track, owned by Kenenisa Bekele, just a few minutes
away. The running options in the
vicinity are very good, with a mixture of forests and open grassland, and the
occasional incline to negotiate.

The accommodation block at Yaya Village

The best bit is that Elaine, an old friend of mine from
university, and her boyfriend, Pat, also happen to be, purely by coincidence,
staying at Yaya Village at the moment.
Together we’ve been exploring the sites of Addis, availing of the novel
entertainment options on offer, and reminiscing about old times.

Our best outing to date was probably the one that cost the
least. For about €3, the three of us
managed to punch in a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon in Sululta, not previously known
as an entertainment hot spot. We enjoyed
tea, coffee, and popcorn, which forms part of the Ethiopian traditional coffee
drinking ceremony, in a local restaurant, before heading across the road to a
cafe that was showing the Chelsea v Arsenal game. There, for less than 10p each, we got to take our place on a wooden stool in a room of spectators fixated
on the final 30 minutes of the action.
Football spectating in Ethiopia is very different from the
alcohol-fuelled chaos of the UK and Ireland.
All goal attempts were applauded though it was evident that most of the
audience were Arsenal supports, the referee wasn’t booed once (though it must
be said that we weren’t there for the sending off, and case of mistaken identity), and the fans seemed genuinely interested in the football and
were obvious supporters of the game.
Finally, inspired by the action, we purchased a football from a small
stand up the road, and tried it out when we got back to the camp.

One of the main items on my agenda during this visit to
Ethiopia was to make the trip to Bekoji.
The small town, located some hours south east of Addis, has produced an
array of Olympic champions, world record holders and world-class distance
runners, including Tirunesh, Ejigayehu and Genzebe Debaba and Kenenisa and Tariky Bekele. It
is essentially Ethiopia’s answer to Iten, and after seeing the Town of Runners, a feature-length documentary on the area, I wanted to see why the
place was so special. On Tuesday, we finally
made the trip.

Any journey on African roads is hectic, but this one was
particularly noteworthy. The six-hour
trip was alternatively terrifying and spectacular; simultaneously exhausting
and exhilarating. I have long wondered
why our local road has no road markings; noting to remind drivers to stay to
their own side of the road. Having seen
major roads between Ethiopian cities without these necessary markings, I may
scale back my ‘dotted white lines for Irish country roads’ campaign. A new expressway is due to open along much of
this section of road in coming months, which will greatly improve the
situation, but in the meantime, drivers must share this dangerous roadway with
all manner of animal, continue to pass overloaded HGVs on blind bends, and
utilise their obvious nerves of steel.

On Ethiopian roads, the way ahead is not always clear ...

... but when it is, the scenes are both beautiful and interesting.

Though there are obvious disadvantages, riding up front also
had is perks, and I feel that I had the best view of the spectacular
countryside as we made our way from Addis, through Debre Zeyit and Modjo to
Nazreth, and along somewhat quieter roads through Asalla before arriving in
Bekoji just before dusk. There were
baboons, goats in the middle of the road, and cows with a complete immunity to
traffic and donkeys which appear to work harder than anywhere on earth. There was a lot of decending and climbing –
resulting in just over a 100 m gain in altitude, and scenery which changed
multiple times from mountainous to hilly to pancake flat. The trip may have been long, but it was
never boring.

Yesterday morning we got to observe the ‘gymnastics’ session
of Bekoji’s main group of athletes, meet with the famous coach Sentayehu Eshelu, and take
a short run along the dirt roads, and steep hills of the town. An impromptu sprint race from the visiting
ferengies brought adoring cheers from the spectating locals, but I have a
feeling they have little to fear in terms of athletic competition. After a quick breakfast, there was only one
thing left to do – make the trip back to Sululta!

The beautifully coordinated drills for which the Ethiopians are famous

My first 10 days have flown by, but there have been many
high points. A ‘carry-on’ coffee episode
made me laugh so hard that I almost cried, Ian’s close call with the Ethiopian
police has been the source of endless banter, and I learned that Ethiopians
have a novel, but straightforward, way of distinguishing their men from their
women. I have met more world-class
athletes than I care to count, got a great new perspective of the country, and
had plenty of time to relax and enjoy my time away. There has, of course, been plenty of
training, lots of eating, and a little bit of tanning. Too soon, it’ll all be over.

About Me

In 2010, at the age of 30, I set out on the adventure of a lifetime, in a quest to write an altitude training travel guide. This blog records my adventures, experiences and thoughts as I gathered information for the book, and since as I promote the finished product, Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes, which was published in 2013.